State of the Environment 2011 (SoE 2011)
State of the Environment 2011 Committee. Australia state of the environment 2011.
Independent report to
the Australian Government Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.
Canberra: DSEWPaC, 2011.
7 Antarctic environment
1 Introduction
Antarctica is the southernmost continent and, including all islands and ice shelves, covers an area of about 13.8 million square kilometres (km2). It is nearly twice the size of Australia. The sea ice that surrounds it adds approximately another 19 million km2 at its maximum extent in September - October,1 diminishing to 2-3 million km2 in February.2 The annual growth and retreat of the Antarctic sea ice is one of nature's most significant large-scale annual changes. Antarctica is Earth's coldest, highest, windiest and driest continent, and its largest cold desert. Only about 44 900 km2 or 0.4% of the total Antarctic land mass is ice-free.3 Antarctica also has the deepest continental shelf and is surrounded by the largest wind-driven currents, which circulate the Southern Ocean. It is the only continent that has never had a native human population.
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